


We Can Build You A Bear

by Thette



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas Presents, Christmas in the Bunker, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, No Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:33:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3215981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thette/pseuds/Thette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas shows up at the bunker, three days late and with really weird gifts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Can Build You A Bear

**Author's Note:**

  * For [somuchforbaggles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somuchforbaggles/gifts).



> Written as a pinch hit for the Dean/Cas Secret Santa Exchange 2014. For [somuchforbaggles](http://archiveofourown.org/users/somuchforbaggles/pseuds/somuchforbaggles), who asked for "Cas gets Dean an unorthodox gift for Christmas" and Sam and Cas friendship.
> 
> Vaguely AU after 10x07 Girls, Girls, Girls, and I'm not even touching on the Mark of Cain.

Christmas had been… Well, it could have been worse. It could have featured more bloodthirsty Pagan gods. Or werewolves in Santa hats on the prowl, like that one time a few years ago. No, this year, Dean and Sam had both been safe, as far as you could ever say such a thing. They had spent a lazy Christmas morning lounging about in the bunker, Dean in his comfy dead guy robe, and they had even remembered to exchange presents. (Dean got a set of new ignition plugs for the Impala, and Sam got a bottle of whiskey, the good stuff.)

But it could have been better, too. Something had been missing. Or rather, someone.

The last time they heard from Cas, he'd been off chasing angels in California. It had all been a part of some complicated angelic plan, devised by Hannah. Dean scoffed internally. She could be vicious, and he didn't like her influence on Cas. Whatever. If Cas wanted to be a part of Heaven again, Dean wasn't going to stand in the way. (A part of him, that he usually ignored, objected. "But he's my friend!" it said, possessively. Yeah. Well. Dean had no claim on the angel, friend or not.)

At the tail end of a Die Hard movie marathon, Sam was slumped over the back of his desk chair, snoring gently with his mouth open wide. He was such a dork, Dean thought fondly. Dean leaned back on his memory foam mattress.

"You've got your ears on, Cas? Merry Christmas. You should have been here. We had chicken, because there's no way I'm making a turkey for two people, and pie. Let me tell you about the pie. I made it from scratch, crust and all. It's tricky, but if you've got a bit of patience with the dough, it'll work. And then, I filled it with pecans and caramel. Even Sammy, who doesn't like pie, ate two whole pieces, with ice cream. Damn, it was good. I really need to bake more often. So, yeah. You should have been here. There's even a present for you. Not much, but I had to get you something. I really thought you'd want to come here. But what do I know? You've got your angel girlfriend, and your mission. I hope you're happy, wherever you are."

Dean looked at his cell phone. No messages, no voice mails, no missed calls. Exactly what he'd expected. And since Cas didn't respond to prayers anymore, he probably couldn't hear them. He took a deep breath, and sent a short text.

_merry christmas, cas_

There was no reply. Dean fell asleep, feeling vaguely disappointed.

***

"Goodbye, Castiel," Hannah said, before leaving her vessel.

Castiel missed her, although he had been happy to help Caroline get back to her family, trying to give her the rewards for serving Heaven that Jimmy Novak never got. Jimmy's family was an open ending, something he had avoided thinking about for years. Claire had even been his vessel, and he had just left them, with just the barest amount of protection. Getting the angels back to Heaven hadn't even been _his_ mission; it had been Hannah's. Cas was left, adrift, not knowing how to go on. He could hear Dean's prayers, a comforting tale of a happy holiday.

His cell phone beeped.

_merry christmas, cas_

He smiled at the double contact attempts. Yes, humans usually placed a great significance on the Midwinter holidays, even though they had taken on a religious significance that was not grounded in history. Maybe this was his next mission. Maybe Dean and Sam could help him find Claire and Amelia, and hopefully bring them some sort of comfort.

Cas started the engine of his car, and set out to make things right.

***

On the 28th, there was a knock on the bunker door. Sam looked through the peephole, and saw a giant teddy bear. It was a disturbing shade of purple. "Dean!" he shouted. "I think we've got another suicidal teddy on our hands."

"Fuck our lives," Dean shouted back, and came running with a sawed off shot-gun. Sam picked up the angel blade from its place by the door, and opened the door carefully.

The bear turned out to be a regular teddy, not a live and depressed one. It was held by Cas, who smiled at them with an eerie amount of cheer.

"Happy holidays," he said. "I'm sorry I'm late." Sam waved him in.

"Uh," Dean said. Sam couldn't agree more. There was a long and awkward silence, but apparently, Cas felt no need to fill it with words.

"Hiya, Cas. What's up with the bear?" Sam was the first one to fold.

"I thought you were on a mission with Hannah," Dean said, apparently having regained his speech. He emphasized her name with scorn. Sam rolled his eyes, and pulled out a chair for the disturbingly purple giant bear.

"Hannah… She left."

"So, your girlfriend leaves you, and you come running to us? What do you want us to do? Get you drunk and get you laid?"

"Because that ended so well at the brothel," Cas said. Wait, what? When did Dean get Cas drunk and laid? At a brothel?

"Whu?" he tried to question.

"It's not important. Hannah was never my 'girlfriend'." He even did those air quotes. "I could tell she was developing feelings for me, but I didn't return them. Then, she found out about her vessel's life, and she vacated Caroline's body to let her stay with her family. Hannah won't be coming back."

"Good," Dean said.

"She was a good angel. I'll miss her."

"Cas, she tried to _make you kill me!_ How is that a good angel?"

Sam backed away slowly. This was clearly a conversation that called for alcohol. He couldn't take those two idiots being oblivious at each other on a good day. When he came back, they were still shouting, but they seemed to be talking about things, anyway. Good. They could both use an emotional enema or two.

"You have _no right_ to go after Claire!"

"I have to let her _know_!"

"No, you don't! She's happier a long way away from you!"

Sam let the accusations fly, not bothering to intervene. He just wished he had someone to text, someone who'd understand just how ridiculous these two were. Maybe he should start a blog. "Shit my brother and his angel say" or something. Eventually, they calmed down. Cas had agreed not to go after Claire right away, and Dean had promised to help him find her.

"So, Cas, what's with the bear?"

"I understand it's traditional to bring gifts at Christmas, and I stopped by one of those big box stores on the way here." Sam chuckled at the thought of Cas trying to find his way in a WalMart. "I remembered that Dean once called me a 'huggy bear', and I presume it meant he wanted one." Sam twisted his mouth, trying his best to keep the guffaw in. It would hurt Cas' feelings. Eventually, he couldn't resist. It was a knee-slapping laugh, and the only way he could think of to make it up was to give Cas a hug.

"Come here. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. But you have to admit it's kind of funny." Behind Cas' back, Dean poked the bear's belly and stared at it.

"Please, tell me you got something for Sam, too, Huggy Bear."

"That proved to be more difficult. I saw so many cervine decorations, but they were almost all reindeer. Until I found this," he said, holding up a hideous knit sweater, with a star pattern and a felt applique 3D moose. Sam had no idea where Cas could possibly have bought it, because it looked vaguely homemade, and it actually seemed big enough to fit him. When he tried it on, the arms were slightly too short, and it was very baggy around his waist, but he was still kind of impressed that Cas had known his size.

"My bear is not so bad now, is it?"

"Go cuddle with your toy, Dean. Thanks, Cas. It's so bad it's good."

"I'm not familiar with the concept."

"Oh, man, you are in for a treat! Sam, where do we start? Adam West Batman or eighties Flash Gordon?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know. You're the local expert on camp."

"Shut up."

***

Later that night, Dean lay in bed, reading We Can Build You. There was a knock on his door, and Cas came in without waiting for a reply.

"I have a few questions."

"Shoot."

"I prefer blades over guns."

Dean rolled his eyes and laid back with his arms behind his head. "You know what I mean."

"Was that the Batman you grew up with?" Cas made his way through the room, looking at Dean's books and decorations, poking at the bear in the corner, and eventually ending up sitting on the empty side of the bed.

Dean smiled. "Yeah. I know it's campy as hell, but there were reruns all the time. As I said, so bad it's good. I always wanted to be Batman… "

"I can see why. A dashing hero, unfailingly loyal to his protégé…"

"…rich as balls, with an awesome car." Cas huffed a small laugh, and looked down on his shoes. It seemed like he had something else to say, too. "Just… Out with it. It's not gonna get any easier if you wait."

"I was just wondering… You mentioned you had a gift for me…"

"No, I didn… Oh." Holy fuck! That meant that Cas had heard all his prayers. All of them. Dean tried to remember exactly what he had said over the last few months. It was a lot. "Uhm…" He could only see the back of Cas' head, but he didn't look particularly disturbed. "Yeah, I've made you some stuff. Hold on." He sat up, picked up a box from underneath his bed, and held it out for Cas without another word.

Cas riffled through the cards inside. "Dean… All of these, for me?"

"Yeah. You know, when Gadreel threw you out, I wished I had the time to do this for you. I mean, you're an angel again, but you never know when you need another fake ID or a fraudulent credit card. If you're coming along on hunts, I want you to be prepared. So, I've made a bunch of IDs and applied for some cards, just, you know, if you need them."

"Thank you, Dean. That's very thoughtful. And so was the room you prepared for me." Cas smiled, more than he'd ever done before as an angel. "I'd love to stay here."

"I hear a 'but' coming."

"No buts. I'd love to stay, if you'd let me." Cas stretched his hand in Dean's direction, and almost immediately tried to pull it back again. Nope. Not okay. If he had heard all of Dean's prayers for the better part of the last year, he knew. Dean held out his hand, interlaced his fingers with Cas', and pulled him in.

"Stay," he whispered, and leaned in for a kiss.


End file.
